candysack,It is the ganges, which is sacred to hinduism. Meaning it is good faith to drink/bathe in that water. Also people get buried in the water. But we all know you shouldnt come in contact with water with dead corpses.

Ive heard stories of friends there who wanted to go into the water when a dead body floated by. Also sewage and other nasty things were present.

I am not trying to attack a religion, but this one part of it actually kills people. Its like the rivers in cities in the middle ages in Europe. We learned that dirty water killed thousands (if not millions).